Industria (LB Barking and Dagenham)

In  London, where space is at a premium, it's not always easy to make room for the economy to grow. Industria in Barking’s Thames Road Employment area is piloting an innovative way to relieve this pressure. By stacking often otherwise ground hungry workspaces on top of themselves the project is piloting an approach that could enable London to sustainably serve this need for growth within its own boundaries. 

Project Status: Due to complete in 2023 

Funding Programme: Good Growth Fund Round 2 

Project Value: £37 million (£1 million Good Growth Fund) 

Project keywords: Industrial land, workspace 

Located on an under-utilised site in Barking’s Thames Road Employment area, this project moves away from the traditional typology of single-storey, low-density ‘sheds’ that we usually associate with our industrial land usage. Instead, Industria demonstrates how we can intensify and diversify our land, stacking four storeys of light industrial units (that can be used to manufacture goods using light machinery and equipment) on top of each other to create over 10,000sqm of floor space, 250 new jobs, and new business support and volunteering opportunities. Furthermore, each storey is given vehicular access via a helical van ramp that allows tenants to service their businesses directly. The project is the first of its kind in the UK. 

With up to 7.1m ceiling height, the building is capable of flexing and adapting to various needs and will attract a diverse mix of businesses over the coming years. Industria will be a vibrant, productive centre, home to a community of small, medium and large industrial enterprises. 45 units will be provided over the four storeys ranging from 1,700 to 5,200 square feet. 

Through its utilisation, Industria will release other land in the area for residential development, providing homes and jobs for many local people. Given the growing pressures on London’s industrial land, a key strand of this project is about learning from partners and stakeholders and disseminating the learning from this project to other key changemakers. By sharing lessons learned and key information to private sector industrial landowners, Industria will lead industrial regeneration for London and support similar projects coming forward for development.